In the blink of an eye
by cein
Summary: Missing scene for About Face. What was going through Jimmy's mind when he was in the car.


Title: In the blink of an eye

Character(s): Jimmy Palmer, Gibbs

Episode(s): About Face

Notes Written for round 4.1 of the NCIS Last fic writer standing.

Prompt "Was there a scene on an episode that you wished was different? Did the end of an episode leave you wanting more? Write a tag or a missing scene, for an episode."

* * *

Jimmy lifted his head from the airbag and looked around blearily. It felt like his whole body was aching, and for a few seconds, he couldn't even remember what had happened. And then he looked through the windscreen, saw the gun pointed straight at him and it all came flooding back. It felt like the world had slowed to a standstill as he stared numbly at the weapon. This was it, any second now the trigger would be pulled, and this time the bullet wouldn't go astray.

"I should have sent that email," was the first thought that went through Jimmy's mind. He was going to die, and the last contact he'd had with his mother had been a request a week earlier for her to forward her recipe for chicken soup . Doctor Mallard had commented on how his mother had requested chicken soup for breakfast every day for the previous week, but every batch he'd whipped up had been rejected as not being the right one. So Jimmy had procured his mother's recipe in the hopes that it would also appeal to Mrs Mallard as well.

He should have phoned his mother immediately after the shooting, he should have made a point of hearing her voice one more time. But he hadn't been able to bring himself to dial her number. A part of him had wanted to hear her voice, had wanted to hear her reassure him that he'd done everything he could have done, but another part of him had been ashamed of his cowardice in the face of danger, his weakness, his inability to do anything to help solve the crime. He hadn't wanted to hear any disapointment in her voice as he related his failures and shortcomings to her. Oh he knew she'd hide it, that was what mothers did for their children, but he just wanted to make her proud of him, like she'd been the day when he'd been accepted into Med School. Now she'd never see him graduate, never get to call him 'Doctor Palmer' like he knew she wanted to.

Now the next contact she was going to have from NCIS would be somebody informing her of his death. He wondered if Gibbs would be the one to do it as the lead investigator. Or would Director Shepard be the one to make the call? Maybe Doctor Mallard would insist on it being his responsibility as his boss. Of course there'd have to be an autopsy, even though the cause of death was likely to be obvious. Jimmy wondered whether he'd do it himself or call in a replacement. He'd certainly have to find a replacement assistant. Somebody else would be there to take notes and collect samples.

Somebody else would be hanging their coats in Jimmy's locker. Of course it would have to be cleaned out first. That would definitely be Ducky's chore. Jimmy just hoped he hadn't left anything too inappropriate behind. He knew that there was a half full packet of condoms; those hadn't been touched since he'd broken up with Michelle. Poor Michelle, thought Jimmy. He wondered briefly if she'd cry when she heard the news. Even though he had been the one to initiate the break-up, they *had* parted on relatively good terms, and he was sure that she was still compassionate enough to feel some sorrow over his death.

His death...he was too young to die, this wasn't fair. He was an assistant to a Medical Examiner, he wasn't an agent, he shouldn't even be in the field without a team of agents between him and danger. If he was Agent DiNozzo, he'd probably have some movie quote that would make for an appropriate 'last words' but all he could think was...

"Drop the gun!"

Jimmy blinked, those weren't the last words he'd wanted to say. His eyes widened in surprize and relief as Agent Gibbs and his team surrounded the crashed truck, forcing the driver to the ground outside. "I'm not going to die," thought Jimmy, the relief washing over him as he slumped in his seat. "It's all right, I'm going to be okay." And then he saw Agent Gibbs storming over towards him, with a face like thunder, and a part of Jimmy wondered if he'd have been better off facing down the barrel of the gun.

The door was yanked open and Gibbs loomed over him. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I did not get out of the car," said Jimmy without thinking. Later, when he'd had time to collect his scattered thoughts and reflect on that eventful day, he would consider that to be both the bravest and possibly the most stupid of all his actions.

"Don't ever do it again!" Gibbs leaned in and looked Jimmy straight in the eyes. "Now you got something to write home about, Palmer."

It was several hours later when Jimmy finally had a chance to sit down and start writing that email. After being checked over at the nearest Emergency Room, he'd had to give an official statement at NCIS about his involvement in the apprehension of the suspect. Then he'd had to sit and listen while Doctor Mallard lectured him on the inadvisablity of taking part in areas of investigation which were not in his field of expertise. The lecture had been interspersed with several tales of Doctor Mallard's own forays into the field. Abby had shown up midway through the speech and had given him a bruising hug before threatening to put an electronic tag on him if he ever tried anything like that again.

But eventually Jimmy had found himself alone with his computer. In spite of Agent Gibbs's words, this email was no less difficult to write than the previous one, and after typing and deleting hundreds of words, he finally gave up. Picking up his phone, he touched the speed dial and waited until the call was answered. "Mom? I...I just wanted to tell you about my day."


End file.
